The US and Iran remained at loggerheads over any potential truce heading into the weekend, with the conflict nearing the 100-day mark and Tehran saying that it and Oman have sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
Following skirmishes overnight between Hezbollah and Israel in southern Lebanon, Iran continued to insist on a ceasefire there before reaching a deal with the US. A military adviser to Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei told CNN that “the ball is in Trump’s court” when it comes to a deal, insisting on the unfreezing of $24 billion in assets.
Also read: US military says it shot down Iranian drones launched toward Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump has insisted for months that Iran is near its breaking point. On Friday he told reporters that “We’re having great success with Iran,” adding that “they’re in no position to have a nuclear weapon.”
But the president, in an interview with NBC News during a trip to Wisconsin, conceded that Iran had some missile and drone capacity, despite moments earlier saying that the US had “totally destroyed” the country’s military capabilities and that it was “virtually decapitated.” He said Iran still has about 21-22% of their missiles remaining.
“It’s a lot of missiles, but it’s not what it was when we first attacked,” he told the television network.
American forces shot down four more Iranian one-way attack drones headed toward the Strait of Hormuz, US Central Command said Friday evening, adding that the military “subsequently struck Iranian coastal surveillance radar sites in Goruk and on Qeshm Island to defend against further attacks.” The US earlier Friday announced that American forces had seized a sanctioned oil supertanker it said was part of Iran’s ghost fleet.
